WordPress 4.0 Released!

We’ve known it’s been coming for awhile now, especially after one of our favourite themes, X, released an update last month preparing for the forthcoming WordPress 4.0 release. So what’s all the hype about? Well, not all that much really, but lots of little enhancements and updates that do make it a worthwhile upgrade in our opinion.

This version has been named “Benny” after jazz legend Benny Goodman.

Here’s a quick run down of some of the key updates to the 4.0 version you might want to know about:

Updated media tools: Now offering an endless grid setup, you can cruise through all of your website assets with relative ease. This is a welcome update since we got pretty tried of having to page tab through all of the media to find that one image we wanted. There is also a new details preview which makes viewing and editing a breeze.

Embedded content: Not only has WordPress expanded the number of embeds it supports, which now includes sites like CollegeHumour and TED Talks, but it also makes it very quick and painless. You can simple copy and paste them right into your edit window and they will show up just as intended.

Sticky content tools: We like this one and we know some of our clients will as well since we’ve heard some feedback before about long scrolling content pages that are tough to edit. So, now instead of scrolling up and down to tap into the content tool bar, you can rest assured it’s there when you need it as it scrolls with you, keeping it available at all times. Sweet.

Plugins: WordPress has also provided some UI updates to the whole Plugin system providing a bit of a better visual display of your options. Meh.

What else? As always, there are a ton of security patches, code cleanup items and other improvements such as adding a new Language Chooser during the install. For more geeky info, you can check out the Make WordPress Core page and delve deeper.

So what’s next? Well, for Full Blast, we’ll be rolling out some of the updates for our clients once we’ve waited our standard 1 month to ensure there are no gremlins in there that will effect the themes and site configurations we manage for our customers. A few select projects and sites, like this one, will get the update right away so we can explore it further before rolling it out on new developments going forward.

If you happen to have a WordPress site and need some help managing it, updating it or deploying the new 4.0 framework, give us a call at 403-619-3718 or drop us a note and we’ll be in touch.

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About the Author

Michael Wynn

Michael Wynn is the founder of Full Blast Creative where he spends his time developing digital marketing and technology-based solutions for a wide variety of clients. When he’s not working, he’s driving kids to sports or playing goalie for beer league hockey games around Calgary.